Puzzles
by PerLuminisPropinquus
Summary: One-hundred one-shots about House and Wilson. House/Wilson pre-slash and slash.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own House. If I did Huddy would be dead and Hilson would rule the world…

A/N: First House fic, so constructive crit would be great. I am attempting darknessversuslight's deviantART 100 Theme Writing Challenge, so we'll see how that works out. I am going to do my best to post one of these a day… they are mostly going to be short although not quite drabble-short.

Also these are all one-shots unless ohterwise stated.

Warning: Pre-slash or slash (House/Wilson) so if you don't like that… I would recommend reading something else. Also these are un-beta'd so they might not be great, again constructive crit is great!

Puzzles

1. Introduction

Cuddy had begun to regret bring House to the Christmas Donor Banquet from the time he had arrived scowling and irritable already with Wilson in tow.

"I told you to bring a _date._" Cuddy hissed, deciding to tackle _that _rather than start on the Making-House-Act-Friendly front.

"I _did._" House grinned, waving to Wilson.

"_Right_." Cuddy felt as though she should just give up now. "You've got to be social. Go and talk to the donors. Just for a while."

House's scowl deepened, Wilson nudged him in the ribs and asked, "Remember what I said earlier?"

House sighed, "Fine. I'll go and play nice." He stomped away, grabbing Wilson by the wrist to tow him along.

Cuddy was left in shock, wondering _what _Wilson had said earlier. She shrugged it off, there would be time to worry about that later. For now, she circulated talking the donors and making introductions.

An hour later she realized that House had not come to whine at her once, or done anything terrible to make the donors come whine at her. In fact, she hadn't _seen _him since his arrival.

Never the less, she extricated herself and walked along following the wall of the hall. After a few minutes she came across a small alcove.

"Cuddy's gonna come looking for me eventually…" a voice panted.

"Worry about that. When it happens." Another voice replied.

_Shit, _Cuddy thought.

"Mmmm, ok." House practically _purred._

When she heard the _moan _she knew she had to act quickly.

"House! Wilson! Get the hell out of there now, go home!" She growled and stalked away. She could handle the introductions, and the temperamental donors by herself.


	2. Complicated

Disclaimer: If I owned House, M.D. there would be MUCH better things I could do than write fan fiction…

This chapter is dedicated to PhoenixDownAt20, and Jender for fave-ing this and Elaxandrius and Cleavage Queen for adding it to story alert

Puzzles

2. Complicated

When new employees at PPTH encounter House they were always frightened, and they always loved Wilson when they met him.

What no one could ever figure out is why the two were such good friends. Wilson was nice, and kind, while House was rude and abrasive.

No one ever attempted to ask House, and Wilson always replied that it was 'complicated'.

Nothing else could ever be forced out of them.

After working at the hospital for a while, though, it became clear how well they _fit _together. Seeing them walking down the corridors, Wilson perfectly matching House's limping gait just inexplicably worked.

They were like one of those incredibly complicated puzzles with thousands of pieces- when you first saw it there didn't seem to be any way it would be able to form the picture on the box, and then, it fit.


	3. Making History

Disclaimer: Don't own…

Puzzles

3. Making History

House hated being normal. It was both his most annoying and most endearing quality (according to Wilson, most other people would only agree with the first part).

House loved shocking people, and he loved acting like he didn't care what anyone thought.

It had been a tough day, his current patient had nearly died half a dozen times thanks to his Fellows being especially stupid, and he was sick of watching every nurse in the hospital flirting with Wilson.

House grinned, he had the perfect way to deal with all his issues, _and _shock a lot of people.

Wilson was leaning on the Nurses Counter in the Clinic, House limped up behind him grinning evilly.

"House." Wilson greeted, without turning around.

House didn't say anything, he just pulled Wilson around and kissed him. Long and hard. In the middle of the Clinic.

As House walked into his office the next morning Chase tossed him the newspaper. "You made history" the Australian doctor grinned.

House grinned at the front page, it was mostly taken up with a large picture of him and Wilson from the clinic.


	4. Rivalry

Disclaimer: I still don't own House, I wish I did, but I don't.

Puzzles

4. Rivalry

"Is House _dressed up _today?" Chase gaped, as their boss walked towards the office.

He was wearing a tie.

"Yes." Foreman said slowly.

"I wonder why…" Cameron muttered.

House scowled at his Fellows and turned straight into Wilson's office.

They all turned their attention away, they didn't have a case and if House was bugging Wilson they were off the hook for a while.

"Look!" Cameron instructed ten minutes later. The new nurse was heading towards Wilson's office in a _very _low-cut top.

She walked into the office and the door shut behind her. The Fellows waited, curious to see who would leave first.

A second later the nurse dashed out of the room, blushing bright red and nervous and guiltily looking. She darted down the hallway and out of sight.

"Interesting," Chase said.

About twenty minutes later House also left Wilson's office looking very pleased with himself and missing the tie.

"Getting rid of my rivals." House explained to the three very confused Fellows.


	5. Unbreakable

Disclaimer: The only things related to House, M.D. that I own are a magnet and a highlighter.

A/N: sorry if anyone had trouble getting to this chapter, fanfiction was having issues...

Puzzles

5. Unbreakable

Their friendship had lasted, more or less intact, through three divorces, an infarction, Stacy, countless breakups, CB's death and the subsequent 'ending' of their friendship, and the brief period of stalking. Through the reigns of Vogler and Tritter.

And they just kept coming back.

Their friendship was unbreakable.

Or was it? House found himself wondering about this more and more as he cautiously allowed himself to admit to himself that he was irrevocably in love with his best (and only) friend.

Would their infamous friendship last if he admitted his feelings? Would it be able to pass the final test and become more? Or would it finally, actually end?

House didn't want to lose what he had with Wilson, although he would never willingly admit it- he needed to have a friend, to have Wilson. At the same time, though their relationship was the ultimate puzzle and he desperately wanted to solve it.

One pizza and five beers down, and House decided to screw caution.

"Wilson, I'm going to do something now. I would really, really, appreciate it if you did _not _flee immediately."

Wilson looked dubious, "is it illegal?"

House considered this, "No. But it's probably against those unspoken-friendship-rules,"

"Alright," Wilson agreed nervously, wondering what he was getting himself into.

House nodded and stated, "I am going to kiss you now."

Wilson's eyes widened but he did not move away or protest so House leant over and connected their lips.

And Wilson kissed back.

House had his answer, their friendship had made it, was unbreakable. Although now it had morphed to include this new aspect that allowed him to kiss Wilson and for Wilson to kiss him. House liked this new part.


	6. Obsession

Warning: slight spoilers for the small spoiler I read in Entertainment Weekly… and many spoilers for the end of season five. Also Wilson might be a little (or a lot) OOC… sorry about that.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, life got in the way… but this chapter is extra long to make up for it.

Disclaimer: I do not own House.

Puzzles

6. Obsession

I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't, or possible wouldn't. House might not be coming back to PPTH? House couldn't just give up like that. His job was his obsession. House would never admit it, but there were a few things that actually mattered to him and one of those was his job at the hospital. Because there were so few things that were really important to House, three at the most, he became almost obsessively dependent on them, they were all that kept him going.

So unless something had really changed while he was at Mayfield…

For two days I obsessed over the problem, trying to fit any of the conversations he had had with House during the older man's stay that would have hinted at this. The puzzle killed my already pathetic excuse for a social life- I saw patients and that was all, the rest of the time I spent out on my balcony.

Why would House chose to not come back? It couldn't be the Hallucinatory-sex-with-Cuddy thing, that had all been worked out. In fact, from what I had managed to work out they had both agreed that having a relationship would be a bad plan, which is farther than they had gotten in the years before House had had his mental breakdown.

Eventually I gave up hope of getting a House-like epiphany and just drove down to see the man himself.

I really disliked Mayfield, it had a creepy _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ quality. I had only actually been down to visit House a handful of times, we had talked on the phone more than that, it had been a hard few months, for both of us.

"Dr. Wilson, you're here early." The blond nurse informed me, smiling sweetly.

"Early for what?" I frowned, I hadn't heard from the staff of Mayfield in two weeks.

"To bring Greg home," the nurse said brightly, although she looked faintly suspicious at my obvious look of confusion.

"Home? House is being discharged?"

"Yes, he said that he had called you to come and get him…" now the nurse looked worried. "Um, could you just wait for a minute, I'll call the doctor and have him come down to talk to you."

"Alright." I agreed. House was being discharged? And he had told the staff that he had called me to come pick him up… but he _hadn't _called. How had he been planning to get home?

"Dr. Wilson, how are you?" Dr. Jones, House's psychiatrist, greeted me with a smile. We had met on the couple times I had been down to visit.

"I'm fine. House is being discharged?"

"Yes. We thought you knew, but apparently he lied about calling you. Any idea why he would do that?"

"No."

Dr. Jones sighed, House had been her most difficult patient. Ever. "Listen, why don't you come into my office, I think we need to talk."

I nodded, I was so far beyond confused, hopefully Dr. Jones would be able to explain things.

Once we were inside and seated, Dr. Jones ran a hand through her blond hair and sighed again, "I shouldn't be telling you this, probably. And I didn't up to this point because of patient confidentiality, and frankly I didn't know how you would take it and I knew that House wouldn't be able to lose you."

My eyes widened, what could she possible tell me about House that I didn't already know?

"Listen, I think this is really important, and most likely the reason he didn't call you. Can you please, just promise me that you won't let this end your friendship?"

"I-I promise." I agreed nervously. Now I was really worried. Was House di- I cut that thought off. It was far to painful even to think.

"Good," she looked relieved. "House is in love with you."

House?

In love?

With me?

What?

My mind decided to take the less confusing way out and gloss over the implications of that particular statement, "Wait, why would that mean that he _wouldn't _call me?"

Jones looked relieved, what had she expected me to do? Start screaming or something? It wasn't like House was in lo- oh wait. So much for glossing over…

"He had actually been considering telling you how he felt when he got out, I was encouraging him to do so because I felt it would help him. A lot. Then in the last few sessions he changed his mind. He started to withdraw again and he told me that he might not be going back to work. When I asked about you, he said that he wasn't going to tell you. He said that 'nothing in his life was worth saving'…" Jones trailed off at the end, waiting for Wilson's reaction.

"And you thought that was the sign you should send him home?" I asked. I wasn't a psychiatrist but it seemed like a sudden onset of extreme angsting was not a Good Thing.

Jones frowned, she clearly did not like me questioning her choices, "One of his requirements for discharge was that he continue to see a therapist every week until he was deemed completely clear. We thought going home would cheer him up."

I nodded. "I will accept that as a valid excuse," I said kindly. "So, why'd he change his mind about telling me?"

"He was afraid you would reject him." Jones explained slowly, as if I was stupid for not being totally brilliant when I had just received what should have been the most startling news of my life.

"Why would I reject him?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Jones paused, surprised.

"Um, he was pretty sure that you were completely heterosexual. Are you?"

"Ah," I nodded, that made sense. Then I actually considered it and realized that nothing about this conversation made sense. I was sitting here with a psychiatrist discussing the fact that House had admitted he was in love with me. Calmly. Although the calm part did make sense on some level, here was the House-like epiphany I was hoping for. House was in love with me, and I was what? What would I have done if House had told me how he felt?

Then I realized the Jones was tapping her fingers in a really irritating way because she was still waiting for me to answer, "uh, well until about five minutes ago I was also pretty sure that I was completely heterosexual. Now? Not so sure."

Jones ran a hand through her hair again, "Listen. I have a job to do, so I'm going to go find House and you can take him home and work this out on your own."

She was gone before I could protest and point out that listening to people whine about their lives and helping them fix their horribly screwed up whatever _was _her job.

So I was left alone with my thoughts, which was probably not such a good thing right then. I tend to overanalyze when I'm confused. I decided to just keep it simple. House was in love, I could handle that he had been in love before, he just failed major at admitting it. With me, that bit was a little trickier, but if I looked at it and remembered the last ten years of friendship it made sense, totally changed the scope of all the fake-flirting that had probably actually been real flirting but that wasn't really important.

Now onto the harder bit. How did I feel about all of this? I was surprisingly OK with the fact that my best friend was in love with me. Note to self, seek help- make sure there isn't something wrong with _my _brain. The real question was how did _I _feel about _House? _Unfortunately, or luckily-I wasn't sure which-I was interrupted from any further thoughts by the arrival of Jones and House.

House looked really, really bad. He was thin, and hunched over. He looked tired and depressed. I raised an eyebrow at Jones, trying to silently convey disapproval.

Jones glared at me and said, "Listen, I have a patient. I can't deal with you two right now, here Wilson," she dropped a huge folder onto my lap, "That's all you need to know about House's discharge. Look it over when you get a chance. Now leave, both of you. Go home."

She rushed us out of Mayfield and soon we were sitting silently in my car. _Awkward_.

"Can we pick up pizza and beer on the way home?" House asked brightly.

"Sure," I agreed.

For now I was just glad to have my friend back.

Obsessions, and confessions could wait.


	7. Eternity

A/N: For those who requested it, there will be a second part to Obsession, this, however is not it.  
Disclaimer: I still don't own House…

Puzzles  
7. Eternity

Eternity was a really long time. The fact that, that is a major understatement is unimportant. The thing was, Wilson had problems with words like 'eternity' and 'forever'.

He hadn't always, but three divorces sort of kills the whole 'happily ever after' thing. Since his last divorce and Amber's death he has avoided any commitment that went past the foreseeable future. Too far away and Jimmy would be running for the hills.

Which is all evidence that what I had just done was really, really stupid.

I was waiting for the dash and a cartoony cloud of dust, and at this point I was starting to hope he would hurry because my leg was killing me. Hey, here's a bit of advice- if you ever have most of the muscles in your thigh removed, don't get down on one knee to propose to your best friend. Although, you should probably try to avoid the removal of muscle part to begin with.

Anyway, Wilson was still just standing there gaping at me. I decided to hurry him up, "Listen, one word answer. Yes or No. But hurry 'cause my leg hurts like hell."

Wilson immediately looked apologetic and helped me up, and kissed me sweetly.

"Is that a yes?" I asked with a smirk when he pulled back.

He nodded and took the engagement ring out of the box and slid it on.

So maybe Jimmy could still handle eternity.


	8. Gateway

Disclaimer: I do not own House…

A/N: Only three days until the new season! I am super excited ^_~

Anyway, the idea for this one came to me sometime in the middle of the night, when I was half-asleep. I decided to just run with it, though, and so it's a little bit weird. Or really weird…

Puzzles

8. Gateway

The gate may be metaphorical, but that does not make it any less real. It is large and black and rusty, with intricate designs that make it look both beautiful and ominous. It is the only way through the almost impenetrable wall that has been built. You stand before the gate, considering. You know the side of the wall you stand on, you have become familiar with this land over twenty long years. The other side is an unknown. Like the gate, it could be either amazingly beautiful, or completely disastrous. You have worked hard to get to where you are, would it be worth it to risk everything to see what is beyond the gateway?

You look behind you, parts of this land are harsh and barren. Those parts correspond to the troubles that you and he have had, other parts are magnificent and full of happy memories. Whatever is beyond the gate could have the power to completely destroy the land where you now stand.

You reach up and touch the gate, feel the powerful choices you must make. You hesitate, you know you can not continue as you have been. The road has forked and you must chose the path to take.

The gateway is ominous, you wish that this choice was easier to make. You wish there was some way to figure out which path was the right one. There isn't and this frustrates you. You have never been good at this kind of thing, but neither has he. This could make you happy, or it could ruin the progress of the last 20 years.

You must decide though, wait to long and the choice will be made for you, and you don't want that. You take the latch in your hand, whisper a prayer to a god you don't really believe in and swing the gate open.

Warm lips meet yours, and you know you have made the right choice.


	9. Death

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I have had absolutely no free time… I'm going to try to get these up faster… hopefully I'll have time.

Disclaimer: I do not own House…

Puzzles

9. Death

Death was inevitable. I knew that, understood it, accepted it. I was a doctor so I dealt with death far more than most people.

That doesn't mean that I handled it well when it was someone important.

I had hated that bike, I knew how dangerous it was. He knew it too, but he didn't care.

A crash.

He was in the emergency room right now.

It didn't look good.

Cuddy had sounded more worried about how I would take the news, than about House. I hated her for it, although I knew that she _did _care about House on some level.

A crash.

I should have forced him to let me pick him up. I knew the roads weren't safe today.

House might die.

House might _die._

_House _might die.

It just didn't make sense. I couldn't wrap my mind around the thought of my best (and only) friend _not _being around to annoy me constantly.

Death.

Without realizing I had left my office I found myself down in the emergency room.

"He's in surgery right now." Cameron told me. I nodded in her direction, unable to say anything. I couldn't even ask how the surgery was going, or what the surgery was even for.

House might die.

"Chase is helping with the operation, House is stable." Cameron continued, I wasn't sure weather it was for my benefit, or hers.

Stable. That was good, right?

Didn't look good…

I took a deep breath, I need to pull myself together. I need to stop panicking. It wouldn't help anything. I tried to run through the advice I gave to the families of terminal patients.

Terminal. Oh god, House might not pull through this time.

Time dragged by, I couldn't concentrate and I refused to leave the waiting room. I was only vaguely aware of what was even going on until Cuddy sat down next to me.

"He's out of surgery. They said he has a good chance of surviving. Do you want to come see him?"

A good chance of surviving! I wanted to get up and do some kind of victory dance, instead I just nodded and followed Cuddy into the ICU.

He certainly didn't _look _good, heavily bandaged with his arm in a cast. His left arm. That was something anyway. I flopped down into the chair beside his bed, the beeping of the heart monitor, which could often be grating, was a comforting reassurance that House was still alive. I sat there and watched the steady, if a little labored, breathing of my best friend.

And when he woke up I was there to kiss him better.

The lecture on how stupid he had been could wait.

Death was inevitable, but we could put it of for as long as possible.


	10. Opportunities

A/N: Here is the sequel to 'Obsession' (finally), because you all asked (demanded) so nicely :) Also, this is officially AU… Again, I'm sorry about the delay… school sucks ^_~

Disclaimer: I still don't own House…

Puzzles

10. Opportunities

I watched House carefully for the next few days, analyzing and over-analyzing everything he did. His therapists had wanted him to get a 'room-mate' which meant we were back to living together. Which, unfortunately, gave me very little time to work on my own private puzzle.

I was glad to see that he was starting to look better, more like his old self. His leg bothered him more without the vicodin, but he was coping well. For now anyway.

I occupied myself in making sure that he really was better, and so managed to avoid thinking about my feelings. It was ironic, normally House was the one who hid his feelings, and I was the one desperately trying to get us to talk about said feelings. Admittedly, House was still being House, but now I was acting more like him than was healthy.

The problem I was dealing with now, was avoidance. I knew that I couldn't avoid the problem, if it was a problem, forever. There would only be so many opportunities I could miss before my chance was completely gone. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to act on my new knowledge yet. I wished that House would say something about it, then I could just plunge right in rather than stressing over the 'could's and 'would's and 'what if's.

A month after House got home, I gave up on waiting. I pulled the metaphorical puzzle that was my relationship with House out of its metaphorical hiding place and I settled down to solve the final pieces. I had to figure out how I felt about my best friend, if I wanted more than just friendship with House. Then I had to decide what to _do._

I frowned, how did I normally tell if I was in love with somebody? I immediately scrapped that question. Clearly I wasn't very good at telling what love was. So, how do I figure out if what I feel for House is love?

I decided to call Cuddy. She would be able to help. Or tell me I was crazy. Whichever.

She picked up immediately.

"What's up, Wilson?"

"Um, I was wondering if you could, um, help me with something." Was I insane? This was going to be the most awkward conversation ever! Why did I think this would be a good idea?

"What did House do?" she asked warily.

"Nothing!" I responded immediately, "well, it was something he said to his therapist, that the therapist told me…" I could almost hear Cuddy raise an eyebrow.

"Jones said that," I dropped my voice, looking around warily to make sure that House wasn't going to randomly apparate from the hospital to here, "that House was in love with me…"

"And?" Cuddy prompted, totally unsurprised.

"I don't know what to do!" I whined.

Cuddy sighed, "I don't know which of you is dumber. Listen Wilson, who is the most important person in your life?"

"House." I said immediately.

"Right, and who do you go to whenever you are having problems"

"House."

"Who always came first, even before your wives?"

I could see what Cuddy was getting at, "House."

"Exactly. House is the most important thing in your life, you practically admitted that yourself, and you know that you are the most important thing in House's life, despite what he says about his job. You always seek each other out whenever you are in trouble. Your friendship has lasted longer than any other relationship either of you ever had, despite all the shit you've put each other through. You have stayed together through the toughest times in your lives. If that's not love, I don't know what is." Cuddy finished her speech, and paused while I absorbed what she had said.

It made sense.

And the pieces fell into place.

"Thank you!" I said, feeling happier than I had in years.

"No problem." Cuddy responded.

"How was your day?" I asked, trying to be nonchalant and not act at all like a girl with her first crush.

House just grunted and flopped onto the couch next to me.

"Wow, that's really interesting." I teased.

Then, because I was sick of missed opportunities I leaned forward and kissed House.

When he kissed me back I grinned, puzzle solved. I mentally awarded myself a gold star, then went back to kissing House, because really, that was much better than puzzles.

I was very glad I would have plenty of opportunities to _keep _kissing House.


	11. 33

A/N: Thanks to my long weekend I've managed to catch up with these (the next few are either complete or almost done), I should be able to update every other day for a while at least…

Also, this one is more friendship than slash...

Disclaimer: In no way do I own House…

Puzzles

11. 33%

"There is only a thirty-three percent chance this will work," House pointed out stubbornly, "and that's being optimistic."

Wilson sighed, "Right, and I'm sure you have some kind of super complicated equation that allowed you to figure that out."

"I do." House agreed.

"But," Wilson continued, "Don't you think that, just maybe, it's worth a shot? That maybe it is worth the risk?"

"Thirty-three percent." House persisted, "Even the ducklings aren't _that_ stupid," then he reconsidered, "well maybe the are..."

Wilson huffed in annoyance, "This was _your _idea!"

"Yes, but then I remember what a crappy liar you are."

Wilson frowned in irritation, "Fine, then. If you don't want to give it a shot, leave, I have work to do."

"I never said I didn't want to try," House pointed out cheerfully, "I just warned you that it wasn't going to work, and you should be prepared to play along when I try Plan B."

Wilson paled, "Do I want to know what Plan B is?"

"No."

Wilson sighed and agreed, "Alright. I'll play along."

"Good. Let's go." House was grinning like a maniac, Wilson followed him feeling like he was being led to his death.

Cuddy was talking to a donor when House and Wilson arrived outside her office.

House's grinned widened until Wilson was reminded of the Cheshire cat, "Our odds have just gone up dear."

"Please don't call me dear, it makes me feel old," Wilson groaned.

House did not bother to respond, he just burst into the room dramatically, causing the donor to cringe in fear and Cuddy to cast a death-glare at House and Wilson.

"What do you want?" she sighed.

"Wilson and I would really like Thursday and Friday off. Please." House affected an innocent look and I just smiled sweetly.

"You interrupted my meeting for that?" Cuddy growled.

The donor was looking worried. Wilson realized that this donor must be particularly dumb, he was falling for House's pathetic-cripple act.

"You were in a meeting? I am so sorry, I didn't realize," House said sincerely, Wilson marveled at what a good actor House could be. Turning to the donor, House continued, "I am really sorry for interrupting, but Cuddy has been ignoring and avoiding me all day."

The donor smiled sympathetically at House, "It's fine. We were almost finished anyway. Why did you want the time off?"

Cuddy looked like she wanted to shot herself as House replied, "Our honeymoon," he reached out and grabbed my hand, I blushed as Cuddy cast me a startled look.

"We just had our civil union recently, but Cuddy has been refusing to give us any time off."

The donor cooed sympathetically, "That's terrible!" Turning to Cuddy she said, "If you won't give these two time off for their honeymoon, you can be sure that I will not be giving your hospital any money."

"Fine!" Cuddy sighed in exasperation, "I am very sorry I was not more respectful. You can have the time off."

"Thank you very much," Wilson smiled, and led House out before the diagnostician could start some kind of victory dance.

"So… thirty-three percent?" Wilson asked with a smirk as soon as they were away from the office.

"I wasn't factoring in Mrs. Really-Gullible-Donor." House grinned.

"Cuddy is going to kill us."

"I know, but we can go to see the monster trucks now!" House was ecstatic. Wilson grinned, and wondered how much a bullet-proof vest would cost.


	12. Dead Wrong

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I have been insanely busy…

This one is really short, but the next one is longer, and to make up for making you wait, it should be up either later today or early tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form, own House

Puzzles

12. Dead Wrong

House hated being wrong.

When House was wrong people died. So he tried as hard as was possible to never be wrong.

Of course, nobody is perfect. Not even House would deny that.

So he was wrong, sometimes, and patients died. Or he was wrong, almost always, about his own life and he became isolated and alone.

He was sure that he had been wrong when he decided to kiss Wilson.

The next morning, with Wilson snuggled into his side he realized he had been wrong to wait so long.

House was wrong sometimes, but when he was right the results could be truly amazing.


	13. Running Away

A/N: Some spoilers for the season premier, but nothing big. Also, I was thinking of writing a sequel to this one, let me know if you're interested!

Disclaimer: last time I check House was not for sale, let me know if that changes and then maybe I will own House. Right now, though, I do not.

Puzzles

13. Running Away

_Dear Wilson,_

_This is all really difficult to write, and if they weren't making me, I would never tell you this. I would continue to keep my emotions bottled up inside, because that is all I know how to do. I don't know how to be open, I'm not good at telling people how I really feel. They say that my 'emotional isolation' was a leading cause of my mental breakdown. So I have to write to you, I have to tell you what I really feel._

_I've run away from emotions, all my life. Even when I couldn't exactly __**run**__ I would still limp quickly away. I had been burnt far to many times to really open up, ever. My inability to deal with emotions led me to pushing, or attempting, to push anyone I cared about out of my life. Almost everyone I know thinks that I'm some kind of misanthropic ass who doesn't care about anyone or anything._

_That's not true. I do care. I just don't let myself show it. I am far to afraid of getting hurt. _

_I guess the problem is, I hate feeling dependent. Which I am so much now, I am dependent on drugs to keep the pain down, I'm dependent on people to help me, because I have to face that there are some things I just can't do by myself anymore._

_I have a hard time trusting people, I have a hard time falling in love, I have a hard time making friends._

_Hell, maybe I am a misanthropic ass…_

_Despite all of that though, you have always been there for me. Even if I couldn't tell at the time. You've stuck around for longer than anyone else I know, even though our friendship ruined, if not all of your life, then at least parts of it (your marriages for a start). I don't know how you do it. You may not be as perfect as people would like to think you are, but you are certainly a better person than I am._

_I hate having to do this. I've kept all of this inside for so long, it's hard to write it in a way that makes sense._

_Forget it, I'll get right to the point._

_I love you._

_I'm in love with you._

_I have been for years, part of me wishes right now that I had had the guts to tell you sooner, that maybe I wouldn't be here in Mayfield right now if I had. The bigger part, the part that has always won out, hopes that this letter gets lost in the mail, so that nothing between us will have to change, because change is bad._

_I should have told you sooner, but I was scared of how you would react. I was scared that for once, it would not be me running away. That it would be you, and that I would be left behind, vulnerable and alone. I wasn't willing to have that happen. I had spent too long building up walls of defense after Stacy._

_Now the walls are down. I've bared my heart, now it's up to you._

_I can only hope that you make the right choice, whatever that is._

_I am sorry for the hell I put you through._

_I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this in person._

_I'm sorry if this changes our friendship._

_I'm sorry if you hate me after reading this._

_I'm not sorry that I love you, and I hope you aren't sorry about that either._

_Love,_

_G.H._


	14. Judgment

A/N: Finally! I have been so busy and sick… Hopefully there won't be such a huge delay before I get the next chapter up…

Also, I apologies if this isn't very good, I am still sick so I'm not really sure about it…

This is the sequel to "Running Away". I really hope you like it ^_~

Disclaimer: I still don't own House… Although if I did I would make sure it wouldn't keep being pushed to a different time because of baseball…

Puzzles

14. Judgment

I had almost forgotten the letter, until I first saw Wilson after being released.

I was more than a little nervous, but he never mentioned it. I was simultaneously relieved and disappointed, but I pushed all thought of it aside.

Until one day, about a month after my release, I found an old letter on the kitchen table. Wilson had already left for work, so I had no qualms about looking at the letter, not that I really would have even if he had been home.

It had been folded and refolded so many times that it was almost falling apart. I felt my heart sink when I saw that it was my letter. I took a deep breath, obviously the letter hadn't bothered Wilson that much because he had agreed to let me stay with him even though he had gotten it. But why had he never mentioned it?

Then my eye was caught by a envelope lying on the table. I picked it up, a single word, _House_, was scrawled across the front. Curious now, I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter written in Wilson's almost illegible scrawl.

_House,_

_I know you think I never got your letter, and knowing you, you would have preferred to continue thinking that._

_I know that right now you are probably freaking out about why I never mentioned it before. _

_Don't worry._

_I was nervous when I first got the letter, the last time I had talked to you I had refused to help you. I was terrified that you had given up on me, that you didn't want to be my friend anymore. _

_I didn't even open it for the first few weeks I had it. When I had I realized that my judgment was even worse than I thought. And we both know that my judgment sucks…_

_We don't need to get into that (again) right now. This is far more important:_

_I love you._

_Have for years, but I trusted my instinct, my judgment, I was sure that telling you would drive you away._

_I wouldn't have been able to survive that. Which shows exactly how much you mean to me, how much I need you, I survived three divorces, who knows how many relationships, Amber's death. All that, but I would not have been able to handle your rejection. So I followed your lead, I repressed the hell out of my feelings._

_Now I wish I hadn't. I don't know how much of your breakdown was me, but maybe if I had told you, you wouldn't have ended up in Mayfield._

_But that is the past, and no matter how much we may wish to, we cannot change the past._

_I don't know how you will feel after reading this, but hopefully things between us will change for the better._

_If nothing else, we can worry less about being alone, abandoned._

_I love you House, I am only sorry I did not tell you sooner._

_Love,_

_J.W._

****

Wilson called hello from the doorway then headed into the kitchen, I heard him hesitate-looking for the letters-before heading to the fridge and grabbing a beer. He gave in without another word and sat down next to me. Wordlessly I handed him back my letter.

He smiled and I smiled back. No words were needed, we had already said all that had to be said for now.

I reached out and pulled him closer. His smile grew brighter and we kissed. I would have to remember to thank whoever it was at Mayfield that had made me write than letter.


	15. Seeking Solace

A/N: This one switches points of view, it should be fairly obvious who's narrating, but just in case I didn't make it clear enough to people other than me I put either W or H at the beginning of each section

Warnings: Spoilers through 6.07 Teamwork, and for the promo for 6.08 Ignorance is Bliss

Disclaimer: I do not own House

Puzzles

15. Seeking Solace

*W*

'_There is no 'us' and there never will be'_

Those words had broken him. He was still sane, for which I was insanely, no pun intended, grateful, but he seemed so… lost.

His world had been crumbling around him for so long, and after Mayfield he had just begun to rebuild. He had his team back, except for Cameron, but he could handle her loss.

The loss of his only chance with Cuddy though, left him without a sense of direction.

He still went to work, and his cases still got solved, but his comments lacked their usual bite and he seemed listless and uninterested. His leg was worse too, not that he would ever admit _that._

The worst part was that there really wasn't anything I could do. I was there for him if he wanted to talk, but I knew that he had to come to terms with this before he could discuss it. At least with Stacy he had the vicodin, this time he had nothing to fall back on. I would do my absolute best to catch him if, no, when he fell. Until he came to me though, I would just have to wait.

*H*

I could tell that Wilson was worried about me. His constant hovering was a big clue. I was thankful that he had not tried to bring up Cuddy yet. I needed to work out my feelings before I could talk about them, which I knew Wilson would want to do.

I had never been very good at relationships, but I had been convinced that Cuddy and I had something, and that she would be willing to give me a chance now that I was no longer addicted to vicodin. Now she has Lucas though, and she's finally happy. To make matters worse I don't even think I ever was in love with her.

Why do people even bother with relationships? They are so much more trouble than they're worth.

*W*

I was extremely relieved when House finally started acting like himself again. he still avoided Cuddy, but it was much less obvious and painful. He has back to making his team's lives a living hell, and I couldn't have been more happy. It was a sign of how much he had changed after Mayfield that he had been able to cope with Cuddy's rejection so well.

I was both proud, and if I was being totally honest, a teeny bit upset that he hadn't needed my help. Mostly I was proud, though.

I knew that there would be other times he would need my help, and even if he didn't, our friendship would survive.

*H*

I felt better than I had in years. I had finally gotten over Cuddy.

It was liberating. I could tell Wilson was happy, which in turn made me happy. Knowing he was there for me even after all the shit I've put him through was the only thing that allowed me to see how I really felt. Without doing anything more than just being there, Wilson had once again become my solace.

I knew now that I did not love Cuddy. I would rather die than admit it, but I am actually happy for her and Lucas.

All this had made me see how important Wilson was to me, he is _always_ the one to get me through the difficult times in me life.

My feelings for him are my newest and shiniest puzzle. Hopefully I won't screw it up.


	16. Excuses

A/N: Spoilers through 06x08 "Ignorance is Bliss". I hope that everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, had a better one than poor House!

Also, updates might come a little slower, because I am working on a four part Christmas fic and I want to be able to post those chapters before Christmas... I am not going to abandon this though, so don't worry :)

Disclaimer: I do not own House

Puzzles

16. Excuses

"_I want to want her."_

Jimmy had freaked House out far more than he wanted to admit. It was like looking into a mirror. They were so similar. Almost everything that Jimmy had said had struck home. House wondered if that is what he would have been like if he had married Stacy, or Cuddy.

He knew, on some level, that if he did date Cuddy he would always have to pretend to be someone he wasn't. He might not have to drink cough syrup, but he would have to constantly watch himself to ensure that he did not slip up and do something, anything that would upset her.

Life would be so much simpler if he was _in _love with Cuddy. But he wasn't. He loved the idea of her, more than he loved her.

His life was complicated enough, dating Cuddy would not be easy, but it would be so simple. So much easier than admitting his real feelings.

"_You should come as my date,"_

He had never been as nervous as right after he had made that suggestion. He had laughed it off, made it into a joke, but it was only a matter of time before Wilson saw that it _wasn't _a joke. It was _never _a joke.

He was starting to slip, his filter which had protected him from coming close to admitting his real feelings was decaying. He would only be able to come up with excuses for so long. He had always known that someday the excuses wouldn't work anymore, now, with his chances at Cuddy almost nonexistent his days of excuses were numbered.

Soon he would have no more excuses and he would have to face the truth, and he did not know what would happen then. He did not want to know.


	17. Vengeance

A/N: No specific spoilers here… I had already written this one, and wanted to get it up, because in the next few days I will have (hopefully) written a companion piece to "Excuses" based on the events in 06x09, which could have just become my new favorite episode.

Also, this is my first ever dialogue-only fic, so any advice would be great :)

Disclaimer: I do not own House

Puzzles

17. Vengeance

"What are you doing?"

"Getting revenge."

"No! Just leave them alone. You don't need revenge. Or vengeance."

"Bu-"

"No buts. You need to grow up. Leave them alone."

"Wilson!"

"No! They didn't get together just to spite you. Close your eyes and count to ten or something. I'm not going to let you do anything to them."

"But it's icky!"

"Oh come on, like you wouldn't be making out in as many public places as you could if you had anyone to make out _with."_

"…"

"Don't give me that innocent look, we've been friends for so long I can't even remember what it was like to have a life, I know that you would be PDAing all over the place, especially if it would shock _anyone."_

"Public display of affection-ing? Way to use grammar."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Thought you said _I _was the one who would go for public displays of affection?"

"You told me to make you shut up, so I did."

"Hmm."

"…"

"…"

"See, isn't this better than getting revenge?"

"Don't be silly, that _was_ my vengeance."

"Cuddy looks a little mentally scarred…"

"Yeah…"

"House?"

"What?"

"You are evil."

"And _that_ is why you love me!"

"…yeah, I guess so."


	18. Love

A/N: Sorry about the delay! I have been really busy… I'll try to start updating this more quickly.

On an unrelated note, has anyone seen the previews for the new episode of House? Because it looks rather epic ^_^

Spoilers through 6.09 "Wilson"

Disclaimer: I still do not own House…

Puzzles

18. Love

Wilson could not get his _former _friend's words out of his head.

"_the person you want when you're dying isn't the same as the person you want when you're living."_

It disturbed him how quickly Tucker had gone back to his girlfriend after the danger had passed. It was worse because Tucker did not seem to find anything wrong with it, he truly believed that the person he wanted when he was dying, was different than the person he wanted when he was living.

He could not help but think of what House had said before he went into surgery, "_If you died I would be alone."_ Wilson had not really considered that he was in danger of dying until House had said that, but he had wanted House to be there.

House was the one he wanted when he was dying, but he also wanted House while he was living.

Love, Wilson decided, should not depend on weather or not you were dying. It should transcend that.


	19. Tears

A/N: Sorry about the delay, midterms suck, plus I had a hard time working my prompt (tears) into anything about the proposal… Anyway, this is what _should _have happened after Wilson's proposal in "The Down Low", enjoy!

Warning: spoilers though "The Down Low"

Disclaimer: I still don't own House…

Puzzles

19. Tears

"Will you marry me?"

House froze, shocked that Wilson would play House's game, let alone _win_.

"Say yes!" the little old woman crowed.

House cursed Wilson's timing, if he was going to top that it would take something big. Nora excused herself and House half-heartedly attempted to stop her.

Suddenly, his game to win her was no longer important. Beating Wilson was.

Wilson sat down and picked up the wine glass. House glared at him. Then he smiled the evil smile that he had worked hard to perfect. Wilson put down the glass and watched him, waiting to see what House would do.

House looked around, people were still glancing over at them, waiting to see if anything else would happen.

He realized there was really only one thing he could do that would if not beat Wilson's display, at least make the younger man regret his actions. He stood and limped around the table, pulling Wilson out of his seat.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, loud enough to draw attention, then he crashed their mouth's together. Wilson's eyes widened in shock, then drifted closed as he leaned into the kiss. Now it was House's turn to be surprised, he had certainly not expected that reaction. Faintly, as if they were coming from a long way away, he could hear the other people in the restaurant clapping and the old woman cheering.

They broke apart and stared at each other for a moment, before both burst out laughing. Wilson leaned into House, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

"Hmm, do you think Nora was psychic?" House asked.

"Oh shut up," Wilson growled, leaning in to kiss House again.

House broke the kiss and picked up the ring-box, he opened it and slid the ring onto his finger. It fit perfectly. He raised an eyebrow, realizing that this _wasn't _just one of Wilson's old wedding rings.

"Lets go home," Wilson suggested, blushing heavily.

"I think that is an excellent idea." House agreed.


	20. The Truth

A/N: Having a life is very counterproductive to writing…

Anyway, the prompt I had this time was 'my inspiration' and while I am sure there is something really brilliant I could I have done with that… I could not think of _anything…_ So I decided to replace it with this story. It was inspired by prompt 58(on a different website): "A drunk man sits next to you in a bar, thinks you're his buddy and starts confessing "the truth." Write about what "the truth" is."

'my inspiration might come later, as a bonus chapter if I come up with a good idea for it…

Disclaimer: I do not own House, I wish I did, but I don't…

The Truth

I'm not sure how many drinks I had had before he came in. Certainly not enough, and far less than he had had. The guy was older than me, by a lot, his short hair was all gray. He had a serious limp, and he relied heavily on the cane he was using. He had the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen in my life. He was already drunk, I was faintly surprised he had even made it into the bar. I was more surprised by how gracefully he had settled himself onto the bar stool next to you. He barley slurred as he ordered a drink.

I would never have believed he was drunk at all, except that he turned to me and addressed me as if we knew each other.

"Hey Wilson."

I shrugged, if he thought I was this Wilson person, I wasn't going to argue, I had no idea what kind of drunk he was, but that cane looked like it would hurt. Besides, his next words caught my interest, and I _was _drunk enough to not care that I _wasn't _Wilson.

"I have to tell you The Truth." The stranger announced. I could actually hear the capitalization on his last to words, although that could have been the alcohol.

"Yeah?" I prompted, when he fell silent. I would have said more, but I did not know what Wilson sounded like and like I said, I was curious.

"You're gonna hate me." He stated. He looked worried.

"I doubt that." I assured him, _I _wouldn't hate. Couldn't say for sure about the real Wilson, but whatever.

"I love you." he whispered, cringing slightly as if I would shout at him.

"Nope. Don't hate you." I _really _hoped the real Wilson actually felt the same way, otherwise this poor guy would be really confused. Assuming he remembered any of this in the morning.

"Really?" He looked hopeful now, but still nervous.

"Really." I confirmed.

"Awesome," he smiled. Then his face fell, "I'm not gonna kiss you right now. Don't make fun of me, but I want to make sure I remember our first kiss."

"That's fine." I assured him again, boy was the real Wilson going get the shock of his life whenever he (or she? I wasn't really sure) next saw this guy.

"Alright, cool. Do you think you could give me a ride home?"

Shit. Did not think that one through. "Sure." I agreed. I wanted to kick myself, Wilson would know where this guy lived. I didn't. Then I spotted it. My savior, he had taken out his cell phone at some point, and it was lying on the bar, I snagged it and said, "Can you hold tight? I've have to use the bathroom."

He nodded in agreement. I slipped away and flipped open the phone, going to the contacts section. Clicking down I spotted Wilson's name. Perfect. The phone rang once before it was picked up,

"House? What do you want?"

So, Wilson _was _a guy, and my new friend's name was House. "No, um, House is at a bar. He got drunk and started talking to me, actually. He asked me to give him a ride home, and it's not a problem, Except he's too drunk to tell me his address, and he mentioned you… so I was wondering if _you _could tell me where he lives?" I tried to project friendly-and-helpful into my voice so Wilson wouldn't worry.

"Are you sure, because I could come get him." Wilson offered.

"Don't worry, I was ready to head home too, and I haven't drunk much so you don't have to worry about that."

"Ok thanks." Wilson agreed, although he still sounded a little worried. He told me the address, which was right on my way home.

I hung up and headed back to House.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Sure." House agreed. As he stood up, I dropped his cell into his pocket and we headed out to my car, he got in without a question. I dropped him off and waited until I saw him go inside, then I went home.

Later, I could never figure out how I had managed to drag a very, very drunk _cripple _safely into his apartment, and then managed to injure my own ankle so badly I had to go to the hospital to have it checked out, walking into my own house. There I was, though, sitting in the clinic of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. For an hour and a half, and counting.

Eventually the nurse in charge seemed to take pity on me, she stood up and walked into one of the clinic rooms. I could hear scolding as the door swung shut. A moment later she left, looking like a cat with a mouse, and the doctor inside called my name.

I shuffled into the room, to see that my doctor was none other than House. I grinned as he flipped through my chart looking bored out of his mind. Just as he was about to speak, a younger doctor came storming into the room. He was a little shorter than House, with brown hair and eyes.

"House! Why did you page me? I was busy!"

"Because I needed to talk to you. Before. When I didn't have a patient."

"Why would you need a consult when you didn't have a patient?" the other doctor asked, sounding exasperated.

"I didn't need a consult, Wilson, I need to talk to you."

My eyes widened, so _this _was Wilson.

"About what?" Wilson asked.

"Will you excuse me for a second?" House asked, turning to me.

"Sure," I grinned.

"About this," House stated, and kissed Wilson. Wilson's eyes widened, shooting a worried glance over to me. I grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. He rolled his eyes, and then closed them. Leaning into the kiss.

I guess I made a good Wilson. Not as good as the real one, but good enough.


	21. Never Again

Warning: This has a spoiler for the April 17 episode of House, although its not really a secret, they have stuff about it on the fox website so… basically, if you know who Sam Carr this isn't going to be anything new. If you don't know who she is, and plan to wait until April to find out… you should just skip this chapter

A/N: I was reading an article in Entertainment Weekly, and it said that Wilson's first ex-wife, Sam Carr, would be returning and dating Wilson. This is what _should _happen after she shows up…

Disclaimer: I do not own House, or Entertainment Weekly

Puzzles

21. Never Again

_Sam Carr_. The name leaves a vile taste in your mouth. You do not think you have ever hated anyone more. You can't help but wonder if there is some type of higher power which hates your guts. She could not possibly have had worse timing, returning and snatching Wilson away when you had finally gotten _so_ close to telling Wilson how you felt about him.

You still remember the last time she influenced your life. Years ago, when you first met Wilson. When he was in a bar, clutching the package containing his divorce papers like a life preserver. You had never met Sam Carr, still haven't actually, but you hated her for the pain she had caused to your new, and soon to be only, friend.

Unlike the other Wilson wives, and girlfriends, you have no idea what to expect from Carr. She knew Wilson before he even met you, and the thought that she might posses some secret knowledge about Wilson scares you. Not to mention that as the younger care-free Wilson's first wife, she does not necessarily fit into the same category as all who came after. She presents a new challenge, and while you normally welcome new challenges, new puzzles, Carr presents one you could easily do without. You don't want to figure her out. You don't want to have too. You want to be selfish and keep Wilson all to yourself.

And, although you will never admit this to anyone, the possibility for destructive change frightens you. You fear that Carr will serve to remind Wilson of how his life was before that fateful day you baled him out of jail. You are petrified at the thought that he will leave you. You do not know if you would be able to survive him leaving again.

To that end you decide it is necessary to meet Sam Carr, despite Wilson's specific instructions to Stay Far Away.

It took freakishly little effort to find Wilson's key to her place, although the very fact that he already had a key disturbed you. He had left it laying on his dresser, along with an address, it almost seemed as if Wilson wanted you to find her. You briefly wonder if it is a trick, like Cuddy's thanksgiving fiasco. You decide it could not possibly matter, you'll check it out and if it the wrong address you'll just stalk Wilson again, you have had plenty of practice.

It was not a fake address. Or at least you assume it's not as a pretty blond women opens the door, she looks _exactly_ like an ex-Mrs. Wilson.

"Are you Sam Carr?" you ask, pushing into the house.

"I am." She sounds confident, too confident for your liking.

"Now, do you mind telling me who you are, or should I just call the police?"

"House." You grunt, continuing to examine the apartment. Boxes were still piled in the rooms you could see, she obviously had not been back in New Jersey for long.

"Ah, right. Wilson's friend. He mentioned you."

You ignore her, wandering farther into the apartment. Carr follows you suspiciously.

"What do you want?" she snaps, obviously irritated at your silence.

You turn around and give her the patented House glare. "Wilson," you growl.

"What?"

"You had your chance. You gave him up." You pause, trying to come up with the best way to phrase what you wanted to say. "Wilson can't be yours. Never again."

She gives you a look of disdain, "And who is going to stop me from taking him back? You?"

She makes you want CB back, at least then you knew what you were dealing with.

"If I have to." You infuse as much confidence as you can into your voice, although if you are honest you aren't really sure that you will be able to make her leave. You should have thought this out further, she is smarter than the other two.

She laughs, and you feel an overwhelming rush of disgust for this woman. "'Never again'. You are pathetic. You think I lost my chance? Well so have you. You think he'll chose you over me?"

You hear the door open, and you freeze, fear courses through you. If Wilson finds you here it will just make him all the more desperate to hang on to Carr.

"Sam?" Wilson calls.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Carr smirks at you assured of her victory. "I'm in here, Jim." She calls.

Jim. You grin. Game on.

"Hi Sam," he gives her a little smile. It's the Everybody smile, you realize, so different from the one that he seems to reserve just for you. Suddenly Carr is less of a threat, just a little problem.

Then Wilson notices you, "House?"

You are about to speak when Carr cuts you off.

"House just stopped by to get me to leave you alone."

Wilson rolls his eyes and gets ready to go into lecture mode. You know that you have to cut him off now if you really want to win him.

"Wait. Before you say anything. I have to do something." You order. Wilson raises an eyebrow, but is silent.

Well, here goes everything. You feel a jolt of fear, knowing that this will change everything, one way or another. For better, or for worse.

"Close your eyes."

Wilson looks dubious, but complies. Carr just glares at you. You move slowly, crossing the room to stand before Wilson.

You take a deep breath, hoping for the best, expecting the worst. You lean forward, pressing your lips to Wilson's. His eyes flutter open, meeting yours for a brief second, before he sighs, closes his eyes again and begins to kiss you back.

Then, Wilson seemed to remember what we were doing, or more importantly _where_. He pulled away, blushing heavily, although he kept his hands in a death grip on your arm.

"Sam," he panted, then stopped, realizing that there was no precedent for what to say to your ex-wife turned girlfriend, when you started making out with your guy best friend in her house.

You just grin at his obvious discomfort.

Carr glares at you, "Alright House, I guess you were right." She makes a face like the words are vile.

"Never again?" you suggest, smiling sweetly at her.

"Whatever." She growls.

You remove Wilson's hands from your arms and pull him outside.

You do not think you have ever been this happy to be right before.


	22. Mine

A/N: I am very sorry about the delay, I was suffering from a writers block and an almost total absence of free time. April is going to be pretty crazy, so I'm not sure how fast the updates will be, but I have April Vacation in a few weeks so I'll be able to write then.

This chapter is dedicated to Fate-Means-Screwed-On-Purpose who requested a sequel to "Never Again" I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own House

Puzzles

22. Mine

I was never quite sure what had caused my to start dating Sam. I guess it was the safety, we already knew each others good, and bad, qualities. It was comforting in a way. Of course there was always the knowledge that she had left me, that the only thing of value that I got out of our marriage and divorce was my friendship with House. That had made things awkward at first, and they were still pretty awkward.

I pushed my thought aside as I pulled up to Sam's building.

"Sam?" I called as I walked inside.

"I'm in here, Jim!" She called. I grit my teeth, she had always called me Jim, before the divorce. It was part of the reason I hated the nickname so much now.

"Hi Sam," I greet her, smiling half-heartedly. Then, like a moth to a flame, I turned to see House.

"House?" I knew that I had left the address where he could find it, but I had not expected him to show up. I had thought that by giving him what he need to find Sam, the game would not have been as enticing. Or, maybe I was hoping that he really would show up.

"House just stopped by to get me to leave you alone." Sam explained.

I just roll my eyes, no surprise there. I open my mouth to say as much, and I tried to convince myself that I also would have told House to leave.

I never got the chance.

"Wait. Before you say anything. I have to do something." House instructs. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. I notice the death glare that Sam is directing at House, and I notice the competitive gleam in House's eyes.

I barely heard House tell me to close my eyes. Then all I could feel, all I could think about was House's lips on my own. For a moment my eyes fluttered open, then I shut them with a sigh. The world narrowed and focused until we could have been the only two people alive. Then I heard something, I could never remember what afterwards, and the world burst back in a rush. I pulled away from House, although I could not go far, my hands were clutching at his arms as if my life depended on it.

"Sam," I panted, then fell silent. I could not think of a single thing to say. I hung my head, guilt washing over me, seeing House's triumphant grin did absolutely nothing to help

"Alright House, I guess you were right." Sam said. I look up, frowning in confusion.

"Never again?" House said, smiling sweetly, but with a possessive look in his eyes that made my breath hitch.

"Whatever" Sam snapped.

Then House pries my hands from his arms and led me outside.

It took me a minute to compose myself, and to think of a calm way to ask House what the hell was going on.

"What the hell was that?" I shout. So the calmness did not work, sue me, you would not be calm either if your best friend had just kissed you.

"A kiss?" House suggested.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Why?" I asked in a much calmer voice.

"Why?" House repeated, "I thought it was obvious." He paused, but my expression must not have been encouraging so he explained, "You are mine."

I gaped at him, "Um?"

House pulled me closer. "You are mine," he repeated, leaning down to kiss me again.

I pulled away reluctantly, and frowned at him, "Why did you decide _now _to prove that?"

He wouldn't meet my eyes, and I could also feel the insecurity radiating off of him.

"She said that you would never chose me over her," he stated, so softly that I had to strain to hear.

I rolled my eyes, moving even more into House's personal space. I placed a finger under his chin and forced him to look at me.

"She was wrong." I stated, and pressed my lips to his.

"Get a room!" A voice shouted teasingly. I pulled back to see a small old woman grinning at us. She looked familiar, but I could not place her.

"Have you already had your wedding?" she asked.

I gaped.

"You have got to be kidding." House muttered.

"Not yet," I told her. Because, really, what else was I supposed to say to the old lady from the restaurant?


	23. Failure

A/N: Tomorrow's episode looks epic, but I don't have a fracking TV in the hotel I'm staying at… So it could be a few days before I can update again even though I'm on break because I want to watch that episode before I post any more chapters. Plus I'll be really busy for a while. I'll update as soon as I can though.

Disclaimer: I still do not own House…

Puzzles

23. Failure

House hated failing. He also hated the fact that the one thing he failed at most consistently, was the one thing that was most important. Namely, getting Wilson to realize that they were meant to be together. He had tried everyway he could think of. He had carefully sabotaged every single relationship Wilson ever had. He had let Wilson stay at his house, and had moved in with Wilson. He had flirted in his own teasing way. Yet Wilson had never noticed.

"Do you think, just maybe, that's because while all of that stuff shows that you are possessive, it does not exactly scream 'date me'?" I suggested.

"Well what do you think I should do?" House snapped.

"You could always try actually telling him…" I grinned, imagining that scene.

"I did!"

I rolled my eyes, he had already told me, and the rest of the fellows _that _particular story, "Actually telling him when you were not pretending to be a gay couple to impress Nora."

House frowned at me. I shrugged, it would have been a miracle if House had actually been willing to openly admit his feelings, "Or you could show him. Actions speak louder than words and all that."

Then, because I had to ask, "Why are you asking me anyway?"

"Because you are my favorite," House said, completely deadpan.

Alright. So House was clearly insane. Since I already knew that however, I decided to just forget that it ever happened.

"House, whatever you are doing, do it soon. Wilson has a date tomorrow."

House's eyes narrowed, "Okay. Just so you know, if this doesn't work out, you are totally fired."

"Oh good." I replied, wondering if Cuddy would actually go along with firing me. Probably she would just so that House would not make her life utterly miserable.

The next morning I was at the hospital early, waiting to see the results of whatever House had done.

Wilson and House arrived late. Well, late for Wilson, it was actually fairly early for House. They both looked faintly disheveled, Wilson especially, like they had not had time for their usual morning rituals.

House practically exuded self-satisfaction.

"Guess I don't have to worry about me job."

"What?" Chase perked up, hoping for an interesting story.

"None of your business." House replied, whacking Chase on the head.

So, House did not fail and I kept my job, so everyone got what they wanted.


	24. Shattered

A/N: I. Hate. Sam. Carr. This chapter is very short and angsty… sorry about that. This is basically how I think House would/will feel when Sam does break-up with Wilson. The next chapter should be up soon and will probably be less-angsty.

Disclaimer: Nope. House is not mine.

Puzzles

24. Shattered

You are broken. You know this, accept it. You have been for a long time, and you know that it is not likely to get better, but you can handle it, and it is not getting worse.

Wilson was not supposed to be broken, should not have been. He was too pure, too _good. _It made him and idiot, as you would be the first to tell anyone, but it also made him special. Someone to be treasured. To be protected.

It hurts that you failed. He had not been able to protect Wilson. Now Wilson was broken, shattered, and House was not sure he could be put back together.

It was wrong for Wilson to be so hurt. You hated it, hated yourself for not saving Wilson, hated Wilson for trusting her when she had nearly destroyed him the first time. Most of all, hated her. _You're wrong about me._ She had lied. You had almost let yourself believe, had almost wanted it to be true. Had wanted Wilson to be happy in a way he could never be with you.

It was hard to see Wilson this sad, it had always been hard. You wish more than anything that you could help him, fix him, but you don't know if you can. He is the only thing that keeps you from falling apart. He has (almost) always been there when you needed him, and he always seems to know exactly what to do to help you. You don't know what to do, you have never been good with emotions.

You wish that this was like one of your cases, you wish that there was some underlying cause that you could find and treat. Something that took the emotions out of the equation because you can not handle that.

Your dependence on him is suddenly much clearer, much more frightening, because if you are both shattered together who will be there to put you back together?

As much as you wish there was an easy way to fix him, there isn't. For now, all you can do is hold him and hope that he can find the strength to pull through. To mend himself, because as much as you hate it, you can't fix him.

So you hold him, and you pray that he is not shattered beyond repair.


	25. Neighbors

A/N: Um… yeah… sorry about the really, really long delay. I was so angry after the season finale and then I was gone for most of the summer… but I am back now and updates should come fairly often.

This one takes place some time right around the finale, so there are spoilers for that obviously.

Disclaimer: After watching House and Cuddy make out, do you really think that I own House?

25. Neighbors

She had been angry. She had every right to be. It did not last; the entire situation had been too strange, ridiculous, for her to really bear much of a grudge. Nobody had been hurt, except perhaps her ego and that would heal. The truth was, she was a little disappointed; there had been something so perfect about those two. It was hard to describe, something about the relationship so dynamic that even when they fought they seemed to just fit together perfectly. It was real, whatever they had it was not faked as so many human interactions are.

She knew that despite their claims, there was more to House and Wilson than just friendship. Something lurking beneath the surface, just waiting to be triggered.

They did not talk much to her now, they must have felt somewhat embarrassed, or maybe they just did not want to have to think about anything that had happened when she _was_ spending time with them.

They did not talk, were not friends, but they were neighbors, and so she could not be blamed (entirely) for taking an interest in the blond woman who began to visit the apartment more and more frequently. Could not be blamed for feeling a stab of disappointment when the blond moved in, and House moved out.

After that, she did not see House for a while. Wilson did not seem particularly happy, and she knew that he and the blond fought frequently.

Then House began to visit, usually accompanied by a stern looking brunette.

It was not her place to meddle, she was not going to stick her nose where it did not belong, but it saddened her to see that neither House nor Wilson looked happy.

In fact, they looked less happy than they had when they were both single and living together. Surprise, surprise, she just wished they could see it as clearly as she did.

"No! You can't move back in!"

Nora quickened her pace, that was Wilson, and she was curious to see what was happening.

"Wilson, please," that was House, voice tinged with an unfamiliar hint of desperation. She had not known him for long, but she knew he was not the type to beg.

"No!"

Nora rounded the corner, Wilson was standing in the doorway with the blond behind him. House was in the hallway, clutching his cane so tightly that his fingers were white.

"If I can't find a place to stay they'll send me back to Mayfield, please, Wilson."

"You can stay with me," Nora offered, silently cursing her inability to mind her own business.

They all turned to face her; Wilson looked startled, the blond confused, and House relieved.

"Do you have any idea what you are getting yourself into?" this came from the blond, Nora had not spoken to her before this- there was something about her, though, that Nora instinctively disliked.

"Really?" House was stunned, Nora wondered if he still thought that she was mad.

"Sure, I have an extra room," Nora agreed.

"Thank you," House smiled.

It turned out that the brunette, Cuddy, had broken up with House, and he had almost relapsed, turning back to vicodin. His therapist had found out and declared that if he wanted to keep practicing medicine, and avoid returning to Mayfield he needed to find a roommate.

House treaded carefully, keeping the flirting and antics to a minimum, he did not want to risk having to go back to Mayfield after everything that had happened with Cuddy.

The two became good friends. House spent very little time with Wilson, which could mostly be blamed on Sam Carr. Nora eventually found out that House was, in fact, in love with Wilson, which did not surprise Nora at all. She did find it strange that he had never once acted on his feelings. He did not, as he said, want to risk his friendship, but it was clear to Nora, at least, that Wilson returned House's feelings. Someone as smart as House really should have been able to pick up on that, but people are often foolish when it comes to love.

Having House as a roommate gave Nora complete right, in her mind at least, to meddle. So, when she saw boxes being carted out of Wilson's apartment she decided to head over and see if they needed 'help'. She was quite proud of how she handled herself (she did not even do a small happy dance) when she found out that Wilson and Sam had broken up.

For a week or so everything remained in an almost awkward state of limbo. Wilson seemed torn between feeling like he should take House off Nora's hands; and probably wanting House back though he would not admit it, and not being sure of exactly what the relationship was between Nora and House. House seemed unsure of what he should do about Wilson in general.

Luckily, Nora was long past the point of caring that she was getting involved in other people's personal affairs.

"You should tell him how you feel."

"What?" House spluttered, glaring at her indignantly.

Nora frowned, "Just go over there, kiss him, say you are in love with him and live happily ever after."

"I can't!"

"You can. You will. Or I will tell him for you."

"Fine," House grumbled.

He came back to get his stuff a few hours later.

"Thank you. For everything," he was beaming, happier than she had ever seen him.

Happier than she had ever seen anyone.

"Don't mention it. It was my duty as a good neighbor."


End file.
